The Causes and Consequences of Farmers - Herders Conflict in Benue State, Nigeria

Farmers - Herders conflict has been a recurrent problem yearning for permanent solution in Nigeria. It’s a conflict between the herdsmen and the indigenous farmers over the use of land resources. This conflict have not just persisted but also manifested into bloodletting confrontations not only in Benue state alone, but, in different parts of the country partly because of the inability of the federal government to bring it to a halt. This paper examined the causes and consequences of farmers - herders’ conflict in Benue state Nigeria. Frustration-Aggression theory was employed and it argued that frustration results from the competition from limited land. The study employed case study research design to interrogate into the phenomenon of farmers - herders conflicts and secondary sources were relied upon. Relevant information was generated from existing literature on the topic from books, journals, newspapers and the internet. The data was content analyzed. The study found that farmers - herders’ conflicts are not caused by a single reason but are propelled by multi-causal factors, such as limited resources in the face of greater need, reprisal attack, and shortage of land as well as climate change among others. The study also found that farmers - herders’ conflicts have disintegrative effect in Benue state and on the country. The study concluded that farmers-herdsmen conflicts are inimical to the unity of the country. In the light of the findings, the paper thereby recommended among other things: the establishment of Farmer - Herder Conflict Resolution Committee made up of statesmen and women, religious leaders, traditional/community leaders and other stakeholders to advance a panacea for the ravaging conflict that have bedeviled the country.